Spotlight: Why King the Land Deserves More Love

S1 E13 / Kristi Rose and Amy Boyles join me to take a look at King the Land, a romcom that doesn’t get enough attention–at least that’s our opinion.

😠💕 We dive into the enemies to lovers trope that blossomed into a steadfast relationship, and we break down why we were absolutely rooting for Gu Won and Sa Rang, played by Lee Jun Ho and Im Yoon Ah.

🏢🎭 Beyond the romance, we unpack the drama’s deeper themes—ambition, authenticity versus pretense, and the tough realities of working in the service industry from the ground up.  We also laugh a lot and recall our favorite scenes. 

👑 So if you’re looking for a romcom that brings romance, humor,  and found family, but has a noticeable *lack* of white trucks of doom, serial killers, and amnesia, King the Land might be just what you’re looking for. 

⏩ Use the chapter markers for spoiler free and spoiler sections.

Currently Watching/Plan to Watch (with some spoilers):

Amy: Goblin, Destined with You, Grosse Point Garden Society

Kristi: The Potato Lab, When Life Gives you Tangerines 

Sara: The Potato Lab, Who Saw the Peacock Dance in the Jungle

Amy Boyles: https://amyboylesauthor.com

Kristi Rose: Kristi Rose: https://kristirose.net/ and https://kristirosebooks.com

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:17

This is the How I Met My K-Drama podcast. And today we have a special episode. We're going to do kind of a spotlight on King to Land. And I have two guests with me. First time I've had two guests at the same time, Amy Rolls and Chrissy Rose. They've both been on this podcast before. So if you want more of them, scroll back in the feed and you can find their episodes. But today we're going to talk about King the Land. I don't see a lot of people talking about King the Land on podcast and stuff.

SPEAKER_03 0:44

They should be.

SPEAKER_00 0:45

They should be. I okay, so this is a hot take. But I think I came to King to Land not knowing anything about any of the actors because I was fairly new when it when I found it. And I think y'all did too.

SPEAKER_03 0:59

That's how I yeah. I I just I think I was just scrolling on Netflix and it popped up after woo. And I was like, well, let me watch this one.

SPEAKER_00 1:06

So I think what happened is a lot of people watched I Jun Ho in The Red Sleeve, and that was such a deep emotional show. And they were really looking forward to his next one. And then he did this, which is very different tonally. And a lot of people were like, eh, it just wasn't what they were hoping for. But like if you have no preconceived notions, I loved it. So me too.

SPEAKER_03 1:29

Favorite movie of all time. Yeah, it's a great, it's a great one. I've watched it twice now. Twice. I know. Well, that's a lot because I'm reading subtitles and I'm spending 16 hours reading subtitles. Granted, I don't watch it from beginning to end.

SPEAKER_01 1:44

I just go to my favorite scenes all the time.

SPEAKER_03 1:48

Well, I can understand that too. There are some good ones.

SPEAKER_00 1:51

We've already hit my first question. How did you find it? And why did you watch it?

SPEAKER_03 1:56

I I watched it. I just like, I don't know, just keeps popping up. New episodes. It wasn't a title that like pulled to me, King of Land. But what does that even mean? And then I just started watching it. And by the end of the first episode, once again, I'm hooked because they left on a great cliffhanger, you know. You know, the Meet Cute, the second Meet Cute, which the stakes are pretty high at that.

SPEAKER_00 2:19

What about you, Christy?

SPEAKER_01 2:21

Well, I was you guys had got me into it and into K dramas first. And then I got the text from Amy saying, you've got to watch this. And I remember turning it on and I was not in the right frame of mind. And I was like, I don't have the energy for these subtitles. And I think I even texted, I don't have the energy for these subtitles. And then it was like three weeks later, I started again. And then I text, oh my God, I can't turn this off. I can't stop watching it. Why is this so good? I probably wouldn't have put it on right away unless I hadn't talked to you guys. And every time like my daughter would come in the room, she's like, What do you watch? And I'm like, King of the Land. She's like, King of the Land? I'm like, no, King of the Land. Right? Because you're right, the title does throw you off.

SPEAKER_00 2:58

Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, and I should say we're going to have a really short, spoiler-free section where we just talk about the beginning. So if you just want to hear a little bit about King of the Land, you can listen to this and then I'll give a warning when we go into the spoiler section. So, what did y'all think of the first episode? You said it draws you in, and I want to see what's happening. And I I love the first episode, except I didn't like the very end of it. There's a a lot of bathroom humor in K-dramas, and that doesn't really appeal to me, but I liked everything else.

SPEAKER_03 3:29

Yeah, the what it does really, really well, and probably one of the best K-dramas that I've seen do this is I immediately am endeared to the characters. I'm immediately endeared to the hero. I don't want to give away spoiler, but it is kind of a spoiler. When he's introduced to us, and he has this, it's supposed to be epic, but it turns out to be an epic failure. You know, and then he ends up working in the office, and the secondary hero is like, listen, we're just trying to survive in this environment. Like so funny, because it's so real, and but it's funny because in that office setting. So I'm I was immediately endeared to him and to G Wan and or to yeah, and then also uh to her, to our heroine, you know, there is a lot of like girl power, and she's got that close knit, those close-knit ones. And we we just know what she wants from the beginning, and we're rooting for her because we're like, she's so sweet and likable just from the very beginning. I think that's what this uh particular K drama does better than so many other things, immediately and dear to both characters.

SPEAKER_01 4:44

And I'm gonna say the same thing Amy did, but I'm gonna piggyback off of that by saying what I really liked for me was that she was not a damaged character. Right.

SPEAKER_03 4:55

Yeah, she's not damaged.

SPEAKER_01 4:56

I get sick of girls always being so damaged and needing to be saved. And it was like he was the wounded one, right? But he was doing okay. He was he's definitely more wounded than she's not at all, right? And she's the more balanced, focused, even killed person, right? And I really like that. I didn't, I was like, and I never felt like for a second, well, there's not enough drama around her, there's not enough of an arc around her. I was like, I like this girl, she's relatable, I want to see where she's gonna go with this, and and not like she's smart, but they hold her back for all these other reasons that have nothing to do with her, right?

SPEAKER_00 5:33

Right, yeah. So then she's kind of the underdog character because she doesn't have the degree, and it really shows like the challenge of how hard it is to get a permanent job in Korea and like they're struggling in the the scene with the when he's the intern, and they're just like doing anything they can to stand out and and be exceptional, and she is, but I think she's also we would say an average Joe, she's an average person, but I liked her too because she was very confident in everything she did. She wasn't always making mistakes, she was very confident in who she was, and I liked that.

SPEAKER_03 6:13

And that's the one sort of de drawback to like her personal life, where we know Stink puts up with boyfriend who we immediately don't like. But we want to go back to what you're both saying about like the off, like you know, the office, and because she's like her her superiors, and you see this a lot in K dramas, and they just really take this idea of office dynamics and punch it up. The her her superiors are just like, you're an idiot, you don't know what you're doing, you're never going to go anywhere. But that's you know, they are very like straightforward in Asia. Like in America, it would never be that straightforward. It would just be everything would be behind your back. But you know, but that's the they never shy away from that. And I've said this before about K-dramas, they don't shy away, they don't pull punches, they don't that's true.

SPEAKER_01 7:03

And I think the thing, like the flaw for her was the boyfriend, but then like because of the cultural expectations, I bought into it.

SPEAKER_00 7:11

Yeah, and I think that that's like a foreshadowing too of later in the drama, she has to learn to decide to follow her own path. And I think that's just the foreshadowing of that. That she's and she doesn't really hesitate once she figures out this guy's not that great. Why am I with him? She cuts ties and she's done with him, you know. There's no wishy-washy.

SPEAKER_03 7:34

Yeah, it takes her a long time to figure it out. But I feel like that's just I think that's very normal with women. I think we a lot of, you know, and stay with this boyfriend who we're just like, we're just gonna stick with them, you know. A lot of excuses, yep.

SPEAKER_00 7:46

Yeah, so I agree with all that. And the other thing that drew me in was the humor. He does the big dramatic entry and then he realizes he's not in the right place. As soon as I saw that, I was like, oh, this is gonna be fun. So I felt like even in serious scenes, they always added that little dose of humor, which I just really appreciated. I loved the scene where he it's the save the cat scene where Guwan reveals who he is and then asks the guy who's been scrabbling to get a job, you know, do you want to come with me? But there were so many little touches in that one that were funny, like when he pulled out his phone to see how to run the copier, because he had never used a copier before. And I was like, that's so funny. Just that he would look that up, just that those little touches. I love that. Change the toner. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 8:35

You know, I think that's such a such a great point. And I think for you know, there have been a lot of K-drama heroes that I've watched. I think he really embodies, and just the actor plus the writing, just a real sense of self-awareness and just that real false bravado. A lot of that, but they just really back it up with him being funny and him being touching, and he's just like, Well, I can do all this because of who I am. And then she just walks in as like, Well, you're not gonna do that because that's not how it's gonna go. I just think that they really set him up as a great hero that is unexpected, I feel like, in um in in a in a K drama. And for me, he's very Darcy-esque.

SPEAKER_00 9:20

Yeah, he is. I think we should just go into spoilers now because we're not gonna be able to talk much more about this. So let's just do that. So, spoilers, spoiler warning, we're gonna talk about the whole drama now. So let's talk about the characters. We talked a little bit about Guan, and I loved him as a character. He had that intensity to him, like Darcy did, but they always added in the humor. Like, do you remember the scene on the island where he's pretending to be tough and strong, but he's really afraid?

SPEAKER_01 9:52

And she's the one at night, yes. But you visit it like two or more or three more times, like the one time when the power goes out at her grandmother's restaurant. And she's like, Why are you always so scared?

SPEAKER_03 10:03

Yeah, he cannot handle real life things, like it's just he's so protected. I mean, there's just so many just funny, funny things about him. I love it when you know, and I guess I don't know if it's the actor or the writing when he does the eggs in the spa. And I don't know when somebody eats the eggs, he cannot stop eating them, and he just shoves them in his mouth over and over. I mean, because it's just like I've never seen anything like that, first of all, but it just really is part of his character.

SPEAKER_01 10:33

It's just so funny. Just so funny. The spa scene's one of my favorite because when they're like, well, they rope him into helping her sell all the items. Okay, he's like, Let's do this, right? And then he like launches into his pitch, and the whole time she's the worst at it. And he looked at her like, okay, you know, like you can't really do this. But then he's like, You're so cute when you do that. You did such a good job. I just thought, that's so sweet. It's you know, here he is helping her friends, but then he still finds her so adorable at the same time, right?

SPEAKER_00 11:05

And I think that is his growth arc is that like she's always helping, she's always kind of teaching him, but in a very nice way, how to be a normal person because he has not had interactions with really friends. Like his only friend is his assistant that he rescues from the internship. And so, like, he doesn't know, like he gives her the birthday cake, which is very sweet, but she realizes that, oh, he's asked the chef to stay late and cook this, remember that? And she's like, you know, that wasn't probably great for the chef. Maybe next time you could not do that. And he's like, but he takes it so well, right? And he it's like he wants to learn how to interact with people.

SPEAKER_01 11:45

But and I will so to pinpoint on that too, is his interaction with the sheikh. Yes, the sheikh, the Arab Sheikh, he's like, like, but you can tell they kind of like each other.

SPEAKER_00 11:57

They are kind of friends. I would say that's his other friend.

SPEAKER_01 11:59

Yeah, like I don't think he would have been friends in the beginning, right? And even though they were competing for her, right? Still he still liked him in a way because he's just like, go, go away, you know, like laughing at him with his when he's getting in the car and the guy's waving the money at him and all that kind of stuff. He's like, just leave. And he goes, he goes, I'll sell the hotel, you'll never come back. I'm gonna sell the hotel. I just was like, it's still cute interaction as he's starting to get to know somebody again, somebody he went to school with, and he's building a friendship. And I thought that was good too, because it because there's that line in the beginning where he's she's like, he's like, let's go to meet have dinner again, let's have meat or pasta. And she's like, No, go with your friends. He's like, I don't have any friends, right? So I was like, it was nice to see that they were building that.

SPEAKER_00 12:42

Yeah, that it was gradual. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 12:43

Um it's a very interesting point. That whole section with the sheik is so good because first of all, you know, that actor was in Squid Game.

SPEAKER_00 12:52

Squid Game, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 12:52

Yes. I haven't seen Squid Game. Yes, I know. I've I've it's so good. But I mean, you won't be able to stop watching it. It's it's very, it's just like you just don't want anyway. But the actor, but you know, it it's right when Guan and Sarah are beginning to kind of get to know each other. And so he doesn't want to say to the she like, leave her alone. This is my girlfriend, because he can't, because he's he's made bet, he's promised like whatever he wants in order to get him to the hotel at all. And then he also can't do it just because that's not where their relationship is. So he's just so frustrated the whole time and so jealous. Like jealousy comes, I think, at the perfect moment. It's a very well, really well structured K drama as well. When we see the beginning, you know, them kind of getting beginning to become friends. She breaks up with her boyfriend. He's like, now I've got an end, but she's like, What do you mean? Like, I'm not interested in dating you. And so he has to very slowly woo her. And there's a whole class issue too.

SPEAKER_00 13:52

The class of the status, yeah. Since we're talking about Gujan. I wanted to talk about his issue with people. I've heard people describe it as like a smile phobia, and I don't think that's what it is. I mean, he doesn't like it when people smile with him, but it's like he doesn't like the surface insincerity. He wants sincerity. And I think that's really interesting to talk about in K-dramas because as a Western viewer, when I watch them, in a way they are very straightforward, like you're not doing this right, or man, you look tired. But at the same time, there is like this surface politeness, and in a way, it reminds me of Southern interactions because, and I can say this because I've lived in Alabama and Georgia, that there is a surface that you don't really know if that's really how people feel or not. There's, you know, like the bless your heart doesn't always mean bless your heart, you know? So I feel like there's that's going on. And I thought that was interesting because there is a lot of surface politeness in Asian society.

SPEAKER_01 14:54

Almost like a cult, it's a cultural expectation, right? Like that's their norms. You're always putting on the good face, right? Yeah. But he doesn't, he's never one to mince words. Like even in the beginning, when the madam actress or whatever is like trying to get a face a free room, and the whole time Sarong is like repeating the standard line, repeating the standard line. He's like, just kick her out, you know, just get security and kick her out, which is not the popular way to handle stuff. She's like, in our handbook, we don't handle it that way, right? We're the ones that are have to have to be berated the whole time.

SPEAKER_00 15:29

Yeah. And one of the things that makes them so such a good enemy to lovers is he is this is how I feel. Yeah, he really has no filter. He has no problem showing he's angry and upset like all the time or bored out of his mind or whatever. And she has to be polite. And her whole job is to make sure everything's okay. And she pushes down her own feelings or reactions because that's not appropriate. And so that's another difference in their status, too, is that he has the ability to just not be polite.

SPEAKER_01 16:03

Okay, he can, he has no, there's nothing to lose for him, but the but she doesn't hold it down when it crosses the line. Like when the guy propositioned her, you know, she was like, I don't care if I'm gonna lose the job or not. That's not how you you don't cross the line, right? Like there is a limit for her. She's like, This is normal courtesy concierge behavior, but But we don't do that, yeah. But you're not gonna you don't talk to me like that, right? Like, which I really like that because I was like, good, you know, she's not totally she's not a pushover, right? She's not, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 16:34

I think what I really like too, I just I'm I feel like the the difference is them, the opposites. What makes these two opposites is so fun and different because she is the smiling face of the hotel. She is the best talent, she is known for her smile, and he is just like, I don't like it when people smile. I don't like smiling. So when he does smile, it's his half smile. You know, it's like, can you even smile? It's like he doesn't really even know how to smile. He doesn't even know how to smile. And I just that's how how good it is. Like he doesn't even know how to smile when he's first told to smile. That's just so funny. And I they really took who he is, the essence of the character, and really let that lead the riding. And with her to the essence of her really, she's got to find her own path in life. They really let those two things really, I feel, lead the riding.

SPEAKER_01 17:36

It's a it's a simple parallel that sets up the good enemies trope, right? Like, I don't like people who are insincere and false. Her whole job is to be that. Yeah, she's even been awarded best talent for two years in a row because she's so good at it. Right? So why would he trust anything that she says? She gets drunk, right? They have the wine or whatever when they get stuck on the island, and she's just like, let's him have it. You know?

SPEAKER_02 18:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:03

I think he sees her differently than she's like, No, I have to do that. There's a difference between have to and austerity.

SPEAKER_00 18:10

Yeah, and even when they're at the airport and he's expecting her to take his bag or something, and she just lets it roll right on by. She's like, I'm not on the clock right now.

SPEAKER_01 18:19

But also, when the guy goes, they go running, they and they just like she's like, Mummy, it's his.

SPEAKER_00 18:26

They leave him to deal with it. That is hilarious.

SPEAKER_03 18:28

And that's such a funny point that you brought up that he expects her to take the bag, and that is his defense mechanism in that moment. Because remember, he sees her the hair, the wind's blowing.

SPEAKER_00 18:38

She's pretty, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 18:39

Right, he is shaken by her. And so his defense mechanism is to be like, Okay, you just take my bag. Shut it down and just put her back in a in a lower place, right?

SPEAKER_00 18:51

Yeah, and she's not letting that happen. So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:53

And then and then it gets even when he's like, I'm gonna rent this car, and you guys are gonna take a little Chinguchinto in the back. Sorry, you're gonna get the little, you know, what happened, the tiny thing in the back.

SPEAKER_00 19:04

And the suitcases and everything in there. So funny. So funny. Well, let's talk a little bit about the three girlfriends because I thought that was a lot of a fun part of the story. So, did were y'all into the stories of the stewardess and the woman who worked at the Duty Free Shop?

SPEAKER_01 19:20

I will say I the first time, yes, because I really like them. And I'm watching the potato lab. I know you're watching the potato lab. One of her friends is in that one. And I I love her. I love her and everything I've seen her in. But I in my re-watches, I never rewatch their stuff.

SPEAKER_00 19:34

Yeah, because you've already seen it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:36

Because I saw it once. It's it's it's the main people that I'm interested in. It's their story that I like the most. But I did like I did I did like it because I did like like, how can a guy just go down to the city office and say, I'm married to this person and file paperwork and like and then she suffers the ramifications of having a divorce on her record?

SPEAKER_00 19:57

Right. Yeah. Yeah, I have questions about that. I hope to have somebody on the podcast to talk about that because that does seem odd to me, right? That she would not have to be involved.

SPEAKER_01 20:08

How do you stop people from falsifying that? Yeah, right. Or maybe maybe she did, maybe she in fun did thought it was in fun or something, and he took it too far. That cultural norm I don't understand too much. You know, but I just thought the shame she carried from that was so much, right? That here was a nice guy, younger, he was younger and stuff, but he was a nice guy. He didn't care. Yeah. You know, she couldn't even see it. Yeah, because he saw her for who she when Guan meets them for the first time, and he's like, She's like, they're basically family. You know, it was so much of the same parallel. They all were good at what they did, honest about what they did, honest in how they approached life, treated each other kindly, right? Like treated people kindly, and were constantly being mistreated by the system. You know, so I was like, it's good to see, like, it's not this isn't our this isn't our main character issue. This is how good people are treated, to a sense, right? That's kind of how I saw their characters as just reiterating that concept.

SPEAKER_02 21:10

What about you, Amy?

SPEAKER_03 21:11

Okay, yeah. I once I watched it once, I was I did was done. And I really, I was really disliked the husband, you know. I was bad.

SPEAKER_00 21:22

I think we were supposed to, right?

SPEAKER_03 21:23

Yeah, yeah, we were definitely supposed to like and the way she was just so mistreated by her in-laws, too. Like just like, you know, hey, we're here, it's eight o'clock. I don't care you're going to make me dinner. And I think that's very, that's just, I mean, she can't say no. She has to do what they want. And so they were they abused her as well. Because I mean, there are plenty of I've watched plenty of kingdoms where people the elders are not, you know, just don't take advantage of demanding.

SPEAKER_00 21:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 21:49

But that's when he learned it, right? He learned it from them. Yeah. And so he just felt like he just like, no, I don't have a job. And it's like, how have you been living? You've just been surviving on her, she's having to do everything. And so when it's when and Then when his parents turn on him, when it's revealed what he's been doing, that was some j gratification. But it's like, well, now you're stuck with this terrible husband. And on the other side of that, we have the friend who is stigmatized by her divorce.

SPEAKER_02 22:18

Right.

SPEAKER_00 22:19

I thought it was interesting that all three of them were in service industries. And when the show starts out, they're young and you see how they're kind of put upon to do all the hard a lot of the hard work. And then as the show goes on, they they advance in their careers and have different challenges. And I think each one of them kind of changes the expectations about they're not they don't treat their juniors the way they were treated. And then Sarong, she totally changes her path. Her whole goal was to be the best hotel employee, concierge. And then she gets promoted to the what's the the King of the Land is the name of that special area, right? And so she's there. And I think part of the drama is her going, Oh, this is but beyond that's okay, but not quite what I wanted.

SPEAKER_01 23:10

But you're at King of the Land, but now you can even do even something even more special. You can be a glorified maid to the rich people, right? She was like, No.

SPEAKER_03 23:20

Yeah. I mean, that's a good point because I mean, because she really saw it because like that was never going to work, because she would have always just been the help.

SPEAKER_02 23:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 23:29

She would have been seen as nothing more than the help.

SPEAKER_01 23:33

She's like, I didn't go in as to be help. I gave I went in this to be helpful, right? Give her happiness, right? Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 23:40

And that's what she does at the end. On her in her on her on her own terms.

SPEAKER_00 23:44

That was very satisfying to me to see her say, okay, I don't have to do this. I can go do my own thing. And even though it's a small little guest house that she's running, it's all hers. And she does everything, you know, to set it up herself. And I thought that's a great character arc for a heroine in a rom-com. Because there have been other rom coms that I've watched where you think that's going to happen, and then it doesn't. You get kind of cut off right before you hit that last part of the arc.

SPEAKER_03 24:15

Yeah, but they had to push her. She had to be banished before she ever even came up with that. Like she had to be pushed as far as she could be pushed, not fired, just banished to Siberia, basically. Before, you know, she would even do that. So I guess that's another point. She saw how she was treated, and she was only treated that way because of who she was dating. Because they wanted to separate them. Her dad, the dad wanted to separate them.

SPEAKER_01 24:43

For as cool as he seemed, it took him a long time for the dad to learn. Even like probably right down to last episode was he just finally started to, you could see he was changing his a little bit because then he was looking back at his ex-wife like, Why did I let this go?

SPEAKER_00 24:56

Why you know maybe with some regret, yeah. So well, tell me your favorite did you have anything else?

SPEAKER_01 25:02

I was just gonna say the one other thing that was satisfying was how the three friends came together with the three guys.

SPEAKER_00 25:11

Yes, the six siblings, right?

SPEAKER_01 25:13

Siblings, but the very yes, and it was and you would think that so Guan gave them the power, right? At the end, but it was the quirky best friend, his aide, that got them all together and kept them together, I think. Yes. But it was very satisfying that at the end you saw each of the girls get a chance to s show people how good and important they are.

SPEAKER_02 25:37

Right.

SPEAKER_01 25:38

Like I feel like sometimes you do need that. Like it couldn't have just ended with, yay, she got a promotion at the store, or she, you know, she finally got the job at the with the airline. She it was nice to know, like, hey, this person knows people, like she is appreciated and liked and does a good job and recognized for it. So don't mistreat her.

SPEAKER_03 25:55

Right.

SPEAKER_01 25:56

And he's like, and when his friend was like, Yeah, we call ourselves the six siblings, me, him, her, you know. And then you could see in that power dynamic too that she was the bossy one still, you know, which I like that because it wasn't like he was in charge of it.

SPEAKER_00 26:10

But those became Gwen's friends, like real friends. And so he didn't just have sarong, he had multiple friends and they enjoyed being together. That was the whole point of the the Thailand excursion was for them to, you know, be together and be friends.

SPEAKER_01 26:26

Right. And the first one to be willing to stop seeing him as someone above them was the young airline attendant guy. He was like, I think we could be friends, which I was like, that's really good. Like, you know, he wasn't locked into the ideology of what the cultural norms were, I think. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 26:43

Obviously, yeah, and I guess that's a good point. No, he definitely wasn't because he also liked her best, right?

SPEAKER_00 26:49

Well, tell me some of your favorite scenes.

SPEAKER_01 26:52

You want me to go first, I got like 90,000. I'm actually Amy go first.

SPEAKER_03 26:57

I'll tell you one of my favorite scenes that never I don't think is ever talked about, and it is the scene where, and I think it's because the acting is so good. It's the scene when Guan's sister goes to his best friend and asks him to spy. And the the just the way his reaction, because you because you know that he's gonna say no, but he almost gives that hesitation where it's like he seems like he might say yes just to say yes, but he just the way he delivers that is fantastic. And I would probably say any scene with those two in it, and Guan always throwing his shoe at him. That's hilarious. I mean, like they are so funny. It's like the straight man, they have a really, really fantastic dynamic because he's you know, there's a great line where he says to Guan, you are acting like a 12-year-old, you like her, and you're acting like a child about it because you're being mean to her. Right. One's like, what? I mean, like he doesn't even realize it's not how you treat people who you like, you don't do that.

SPEAKER_01 28:00

The best friend goes from this bumbling, I'm desperate to have a job, seeing an internship to would you read these reports? You're not handling this the right way. They're taking advantage, like protecting him. And when he sits down with the sister to know how to play that game, right?

SPEAKER_00 28:15

Yes, yeah, because Guan knows what's going on from the very beginning. He knows what the game is, and he's like, I don't want to play this game. But then he begins to see how people are being treated, and he's like, Yeah, this is not how it should be. Right.

SPEAKER_01 28:29

And that motivates him to he calls out one of her bosses, the one that's always having to get her the dresses and is always like, Remember when she gets to the the room because she worked late or whatever, and then she's he has to pretend that he's staying in the room.

SPEAKER_00 28:43

Yes, that was that's a funny scene.

SPEAKER_01 28:45

That's a funny scene too. But she's like, Oh, he's so cool, even though he's mean, he's so cool. Yes. And it was his best friend that puts her in her place, which I really like that a lot too.

SPEAKER_03 28:55

Every scene with him, I he just they they all come alive. It's so much fun.

SPEAKER_01 29:00

It was well casted, I thought well written. I did the the humor was funny, just little throwaway lines were so good, right?

SPEAKER_03 29:09

Yeah, it's really, I just feel like this is definitely like such a well-written. I mean, you know, I maybe they could have trimmed an episode, but I never felt particularly bored, and I never felt like there were things that didn't work. I felt like there was always just these these little gem moments.

SPEAKER_00 29:28

Christy, do you want to tell us some of your favorite scenes or one or two of them?

SPEAKER_01 29:31

Gosh, I mean, they're just scattered throughout, because that's what I think that's why I could do all the episodes, because like Amy said, there are so many gems in every episode that you there's not one that you like even when they went to Thailand, you know, I think uh all of us probably were like, Oh, that's probably our least favorite. Because it was just it was but it was cute, it was adorable, right?

SPEAKER_00 29:50

And there's I mean, it it could have been cut, you're right. I mean, it could have been cut, but it was fun to see them all together.

SPEAKER_01 29:56

And later in the when in the show, she's like, Yeah, remember how he had tell them to get in the back, get in the back. Because you made him walk in the back of the line, which is really cute. I liked, I mean, I like I have a whole list I went from the very beginning, but I love I one of my favorite things was when he finds her crying on her birthday and then he takes her out and he gets her matching clothes and all that kind of stuff, right?

SPEAKER_03 30:15

I love those shoes. Can we talk about how we measure? It's the funniest thing. Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_01 30:20

But then when he takes her home and she has to, and then her boyfriend, the one that she broke up with, is waiting for her, right? He does not jump in. He lets her handle it. And I love that, right? He that he doesn't do anything until it's time for her. She's walked away, and then he's like, Nope, you're gonna walk away. You're not gonna call her again. And if you do feel like you need to talk to her, you will call and you will ask nicely. And if she says no, you're still not gonna talk to her, right?

SPEAKER_00 30:45

Yeah, that was actually one that I was gonna mention because I love that that he is there, but he lets her handle it and he does he doesn't, you know, step in and push his way in. That's one of my favorite scenes.

SPEAKER_01 30:59

My other favorite that probably doesn't get talked about a lot either is when after she has worked as a maid in his family and she had served him dinner and overheard the dad trying to marry him off, right? He thinks she's gonna break up with him. And they meet at the hibachi restaurant and he's waiting for her and he's really sad. And the cook is like, Oh, you're so sad. Let me get you a you're so sad. He's like, I'm not sad, I'm fine. And then she shows up and he's like, Look at you, you're happier now. But anyway, he's like, he thinks she's gonna break up and she's like, I've discovered that the life plan I made isn't a good life plan. I need a different plan. And so they're having a communication issue. And then he says something, she goes, What are you talking about? And he's like about us. And she goes, I'm talking about, I don't think I can do this anymore. I think I need a different job. And he's like, Oh, and she's like, Are you breaking up with me? Like she gets really upset, right? And then he's like, No, no, no. And I thought, I love that it wasn't a there was a brief communication, but the whole plot or that part of the plot wasn't hinged on some stupid communication problem that could have been resolved like it was. It was resolved in 35 seconds, right? And I just and it, I I was like, they took a communication problem, made it so cute, and it wasn't the plot thing, you know, wasn't carrying the story. I love that. I thought that was such a cute scene.

SPEAKER_00 32:20

For me, my favorite one of them is the the scene where her old boyfriend shows up and he he doesn't step in until after she swipes her phone away and calls the police and says, This guy's stalking me. Yeah, there was another one that, oh, I love it when she takes him to the bocce restaurant for the first time and he's not used to waiting in line and he wants to leave. And she's like, you know, this is how this works. And he says it's something like, I've never waited in line, or something like that. And she says, Clearly, you have never waited in line.

SPEAKER_01 32:51

He's like, Are we supposed to eat it and they're cooking in front of us? And then they he's like, Why does the mug have to be cold? Right? All of it is so funny.

SPEAKER_03 32:59

It's just, I think I just think that's what makes King of the Land so special are is the attention to detail, and they add to the richness of the story and the characters. I think that's why I just really I really gravitate toward it.

SPEAKER_01 33:11

Another one that I liked a lot too was when he was trying to win the game, the gambling game, and she's like, You have a gambling problem, you need to stop. He's like, just in the little market, yeah. And he's like, just give me a few more one. Just like oh, is that when he wins the fish and then the fish cracks, and then it's all like and she's like, Well, but then you revisit it later when she sees his room and he's glued it back together because it was so important to him, right?

SPEAKER_00 33:36

Yeah, the grandmother, the grandmother, I was thinking about her too.

SPEAKER_03 33:40

Grandmother who when she's like doesn't think he has anything, all the old ladies are talking. She she opens up the bank account for him. She's like, I put$20 in it, and you start saving up for a house. Like, it's just just so funny and endearing, and he's so respectful. And the grandmother is so just sweet and wonderful. I think she's in game two, FYI.

SPEAKER_00 34:00

You think what?

SPEAKER_03 34:01

I think she's in Squid Game 2 as well.

SPEAKER_00 34:04

Oh, yeah, she's in a lot. She's like the nation's grandma or something, I think.

SPEAKER_01 34:09

She's the best though. I could see why. I also thought the nephew was a nice twist. Yeah, the her, yes, the nephew. Because the nephew goes at one point, I don't have any friends.

SPEAKER_00 34:20

Same situation.

SPEAKER_01 34:21

Yeah, and he looks at him and he sees this is what we're doing, this is how we're raising him to be, right?

SPEAKER_00 34:27

We got a couple minutes left. Do y'all want to talk about anything you're watching right now?

SPEAKER_03 34:31

Yes, let's talk about what we're watching right now because I saw that y'all two are watching the same thing, but I'm not watching that. So tell me, because I don't know what Sarah thinks about the potato lab. I would like to ask, I would like to know what Sarah thinks about it. But go ahead, tell me what you're watching. I'm watching Goblin or the it's called The Guardian. Sarah, you've probably seen it. Have you seen it?

SPEAKER_00 34:46

I've only seen the beginning of it, and I don't I wasn't in the mood for it.

SPEAKER_03 34:50

It has that whole like big like fantasy. We have like prophecy, we have Grim Reaper, we have almost this angel character. Yes, and I think it's gonna be really long. I don't know if I'm gonna be able to get through my like I'm only got like five days left in my like free Vicky account. I'm gonna have to break down and subscribe for a moment. It's got the salesman from Squid Game in it. He's the lead in it. But then it's old, it's like crash landing on you old, I guess.

SPEAKER_00 35:20

Yeah, that's like one of the big, like marquee ones that that people talk about.

SPEAKER_03 35:25

Yeah, I was looking for something like big that would be really good. I was like, I want to I want a K drama that's really good, but it's not sub, it's not in, it's not dubbed. That's the only thing. So I have to actually watch it. So I can't do other things at the same time.

SPEAKER_00 35:36

What are you watching, Christy?

SPEAKER_01 35:38

Well, okay, so kind of in a Draminey phase. I'm sorry. I've just been reading a lot of Dramini fanfiction. So I've been looking for Dramini things to watch on TV. So when Amy says goblins sounds kind of like I'm like, oh, that kind of Harry Potter world. I could kind of get into that, right?

SPEAKER_00 35:54

That might hit for you. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 35:55

It might hit for me, right? But my re like King of the Land, when I'm feeling it, but I don't feel like I have a lot of time, I do King of the Land and I do Loves to Hate You. I know Amy doesn't like that. I love I that's my second favorite one is Love to Hate You. I just love her, right? But I'm watching the Potato Lab and I I like it and I love the best friend.

SPEAKER_02 36:14

I love the best friend.

SPEAKER_01 36:15

And but I'm like, it's just some of the beats aren't hitting well for me.

SPEAKER_00 36:19

It's kind of I feel so we have, I think, at this point, there's like four episodes left, right? Because it's only 12 episodes, and I'm I'm enjoying it, but I do feel like it could have been edited down a little bit. Do you feel like that?

SPEAKER_01 36:32

I yes, and I but also feel like they didn't set them up well enough. Like them falling for each other didn't happen well enough for me, right? And also I'm like, I don't understand fully what's going on with this. I know I get that she was engaged to the other guy before. What is the secret? Like, can you I don't we don't know yet. I know, but hint a little bit better at it. You know what I'm saying? Because it's like he's like if she finds out that what what's his name? The guest B, you know, but I'm like, I need to know. I need to know so I because I right now I don't care.

SPEAKER_00 37:07

You know because it's not enough information.

SPEAKER_01 37:09

It's not enough, right?

SPEAKER_00 37:10

Yeah. There's some hints I I personally I think that maybe he was just dating them both at the same time.

SPEAKER_01 37:17

I think he was he seemed surprised to get the announcement.

SPEAKER_00 37:20

I don't know. And then maybe he went with the other girl because of who she was, and it was a selfish reason for him because it would help him.

SPEAKER_01 37:28

But she was in she was engaged to him because her friends like earlier she said, Well, when you were engaged, you know, and she confronts when she says that like I love the first scene where she like tries to run from him when she sees him in the beginning. You know, I love that. Oh yeah, right? And when she's in the building, and then and I love that he's the one who the other guy is who she ends up falling for because I really like him a lot better. You know, he's a very I like the character better. But I was like, he did her dirty by I think they were engaged, and I think he didn't break off the engagement and started dating the other girl, right?

SPEAKER_00 38:06

Yeah, I think so.

SPEAKER_01 38:07

And then got secondary engaged to break off the other one, which is not like he's a dirt bag. But why is guest B gonna be involved in this? What does he have?

SPEAKER_00 38:17

I don't know. That's what we don't know.

SPEAKER_01 38:19

And it he set them up because that's not enough for me.

SPEAKER_00 38:22

No, no. Well, we'll find out in the next couple of days. I am enjoying it. I like I like that it's light, I like the humor, and I like the whole family dynamic thing that's going on at the guest house, and then I like the the lab and that all the people there have their own personalities and that they have their own things that they're doing. I like that. Not as into I love the actress that's in this, that's also in King the Land, the the her best friend in the potato lab, but I don't quite get her relationship. I'm not it's cute, but I feel like there could be more there. I feel like that character could be doing so much more.

SPEAKER_01 39:03

She's just the best friend that lives with them.

SPEAKER_00 39:05

Yeah, yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 39:07

Now she's now she's fallen in love with the brother, right?

SPEAKER_00 39:09

Right.

SPEAKER_01 39:10

But so he's like, you I guess when she was like, she's like his sister, because they've been together, they've been tight. I guess after their her mom died or something. Yeah, but I yeah, I'm the same way. I just feel like I haven't felt like there's been enough between the main people to fall for each other.

SPEAKER_00 39:25

And you did get a lot of that. That's what I noticed when I was watching King of the Land is you got so many scenes of them together, just going to the island, going to out to eat at work. You really got to see them together a lot.

SPEAKER_01 39:38

She watches him and King of the Land come across for the interview and he's got that swagger, right? She stands up and her mouth falls open. You're like, okay, now like it's that's her moment for the same for when she walked into the airport, his mouth fell open. I I didn't have that in the potato lab. You know, I don't buy it. And he's so forward all of a sudden. He's like very restrained until now. Now he's like, I can't wait to get you naked, basically. You know, and I'm like, dude, you know, and not that he said that, but I'm just like, you're very forward all of a sudden. Where's this coming from? You know?

SPEAKER_00 40:10

Yeah. I do like her character in the potato lab. I like the female lead because she's just feisty in don't make me smoke.

unknown 40:19

I know.

SPEAKER_00 40:20

You know, some people I think don't like female characters if they're not perfect, but I like it if they have some sassiness to them and that they're not just always sweet and kind. Although you could say, like, Sarong is sweet and kind, but you do see that other side to her where she's like, no, this is a line, don't cross it.

SPEAKER_01 40:42

Right, right. Have you seen in the Potato Lab yet where the best friend confronts the ex-fiance?

SPEAKER_00 40:47

Yes, and that is hilarious.

SPEAKER_01 40:49

That's the best scene ever. She's like, I'm gonna kill you. I'm gonna introduce you to Hades. She has the best lines. She's a romance writer, Amy. Oh, I mean that's very funny.

SPEAKER_03 41:02

I'm sorry. I was trying to find this one that I watch that was also very fun, and it takes place, but it's dual timeline. It goes like they've basically been reincarnated from the past, that and they're we're not with them in the future. And he is very funny in a guon kind of sort of way, too. It's Destin for You? Destined for you. And and it's one of those where I did feel like we understood when they got together and how they actually liked each other. And it's a little bit of a love triangle. So then they really take the time with the relationship with those two characters.

SPEAKER_01 41:33

Well, what's cute about Destin for You is he was like, I'm leaving now, even though I don't want to leave, even though I want to be with you because I can't stand to be away from you. I have to leave because I don't want to, because I just have to, you know, like he hates that he's falling for her, right? And he thinks it's all due to a curse. When it really so I am excited.

SPEAKER_00 41:52

One other thing I'm watching, it's a Japanese show called Who Saw the Peacock Dance in the Jungle? And I mean, and that's crazy. I was like, this is such a stupid title. I'm never gonna watch that. But then I watched, I saw the part of the episode, and I was like, that looks interesting. So it's not, it's idiom, like piece of cake, you know, like we would say, Oh, that's a piece of cake. It's an idiom, and they explain what it is, but it's a mystery. And but it only comes out one episode a week, and there are only 45 minutes. I've waited. Now I can watch the last two or three all together in a row and see how it turns out. So hopefully it's good.

SPEAKER_03 42:28

Well, maybe the only TV show that's really good that I've been watching is Gross Point Garden Club. Okay. Write that down. And it's a murder mystery. It's on NBC, you can, or Peacock, I think it's on both of those. I've just been like DVRing them or just watching them later. That's it's also very good.

SPEAKER_01 42:43

So on my way before I cut home, I went through Dutch Brothers to get my tea for the day. And she asked what I was doing. I said, I'm gonna be on this podcast, and we were talking about K drama. She goes, Well, my mom says you have to watch something with tangerines.

SPEAKER_00 42:55

Oh, when life gives you tran tangerines.

SPEAKER_01 42:57

She said, Warning, you're gonna be sad. It's really sad. I was like, Well, that's not a good recommendation.

SPEAKER_00 43:03

I think it's very emotional. And yeah, I'm I'm waiting on that one till all of it's out.

SPEAKER_01 43:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 43:09

And I have to be in the right mood for it.

SPEAKER_01 43:11

Well, that's what she said too. But I was like, how funny is I'm just talking to this college girl at the coffee shop about K dramas. And she's like, Oh, I you've gotta watch this one, you know.

SPEAKER_00 43:21

So that's so funny. They're so popular now. So many people are watching them. And then there's this whole segment of the population who are like, K what? They don't know what that means.

SPEAKER_03 43:28

Yeah, but I mean it's um even on Amazon Prime now, you can do like the K drama like subscription. And if you want really good TV show that's really high tropey, high concept, you know, that's what you're gonna want to watch. I mean, you know, that's not gonna like drag you on for 30 years.

SPEAKER_00 43:46

And then and then it not get wrapped up.

SPEAKER_02 43:49

It's going to end. That's the great thing.

SPEAKER_00 43:51

Well, we have to end because we have to, gotta go. But anyway, tell everybody where they can find you guys online. Amy, you go first.

SPEAKER_03 43:58

I am audioing if I may. Online at amiebols.com. I read I write magical rom coms and paranormal cozy mysteries.

SPEAKER_01 44:07

And you I have my own store at Christy Rosebooks.com. That's Christy with a K and I. And I write mysteries and romance.

SPEAKER_00 44:14

Perfect. All right. Well, thanks for being here. And we will get back together again and talk more K drama.

SPEAKER_01 44:22

Bye.